I recently spoke to Esteban, who is the front man for Athens, GA based “urban alternative” band, Playground Hero, about their new video for “Don’t Be Judgin’ Me.” We talked about the making of the video, and what fans might think of this new style of music.

 

Good Night Magazine: Did the director pitch the concept for the video to you and you just ran with it, or did you help shape the style and content?

 

Esteban Watson: First off, I would like to thank everyone that helped make the "Don't Be Judgin' Me" video possible. Everyone that helped was amazing and I am very grateful!Yes. Daniel Espeut came up with the concept and I thought it was too much at first. I had already discussed with Daniel the circumstances that allowed me to come up with the lyrics to the song so I know he designed the concept based on our discussion. However, I thought the concept was too psychological. Regardless of how I felt, I trusted his judgment and decided to give it my all. Of course, I was giving a great deal of artistic expression with the video including my costuming, dance sequences and improvisation with the various characters.

 

GNM: Were you worried about the difficulties of doing a long shot music video?

 

EW: Yes. I was already familiar with a one-shot film but due to the amount of costume changes in the script, I thought it would be too difficult. However, after we mapped everything out and designed the costumes I felt more comfortable.

 

GNM: Did you run into any major complications while shooting?

 

EW: Oh Yes! We had people parking in parking meters that we blocked off. We had a gentlemen  charge into the film set, almost knocking over our steady-cam operator and become very aggressive. The director, while trying to change into another costume,  ran into a parking meter. We had lighting issues, shortened staff, and miscommunication with Athens local authorities. Honestly, the list could go on for another page but overall it was a great learning experience and we could not have asked for a better crew. They were always on top of things and would solve any and all obstacles that came about.

 

GNM: What were you hoping your fans would take away from the video?

 

EW: I just wanted people to know that you never know what a person is going through when you first meet them. Too many people are pre-judged because of a first impression and though first impressions provide some insight, it is not always an accurate depiction of a person's character.

 

GNM: There is a bit of a twist in the beginning of the video. Were you hoping to surprise listeners with how upbeat the song is?

 

EW: Well the goal was to go inside the head of a manic individual. I just thought that it would make sense to have the music and lyrics contradict in order to emphasize that the individual singing it had reached a breaking point. I just felt that it was a safer way to portray a breaking point instead of depression, violence or intense drug use. I would say it symbolizes our overall message of everyone being a hero of some sort. You are going to have some set backs and sometimes its best to just let go, tell your story and keep moving forward. My character experiences a series of setbacks that day which result in drinking alcohol but instead of being depressed and angry the entire night he decides to dance his worries away.

 

GNM: Did you come up with the choreography yourself?

 

EW: It was a shared effort with Daniel Espeut and I. Both of us are dancers so I wanted to get his opinion on any dance movements due to his vast involvement in the story and concept.

 

GNM: Did you draw any inspiration from other music videos?

 

EW: Yes. We drew inspiration from "Singing in the Rain" with Gene Kelly. We also pulled energy from the Ellen Degeneres’ Oscar Trailer.  

 

GNM: How do you describe your sound? How is “Don’t Be Judgin' Me” a good example of that?

 

EW: Honestly, the magic of our sound really comes from the musicians in the band. Davon, Ian & Jonathan are so good at what they do which it inspires me to sing with all I have inside. I think that the sound we have is special because of their unique styles and abilities all blended into one. It was a good friend of mine that said our sound was Urban Alternative. I feel that each one of our songs have their own sound.  "Don't Be Judgin' Me" has this jazzy feel to it that is quirky and bubblegum pop like but it’s the lyrical content that gives it an urban flavor. I would say that I suppose when our album gets released in spring of 2015, I will see how others describe our sound.